A theological controversy covered by CNN (see here) demonstrates how dialogue is changing in the age of the Internet. Justin Taylor has questioned Rob Bell’s views on Hell – – and an exponentially growing discussion has ensued. Controversies such as this are one of the reasons I have recently stressed the importance of a local church’s doctrinal statement to our church here in Stillman Valley.
In January our church was privileged to have Justin Taylor preach about the sanctity of life. In introducing him, I tried to explain to our people (many who don’t follow the blogosphere) the breadth of Justin’s influence. It’s hard to comprehend how the world has changed, and how a blog can now quickly reach around the world.
Justin’s influence was demonstrated this weekend when he posted about Rob Bell’s forthcoming book and questioned Bell’s orthodoxy. Of course, Rob Bell also has a large audience so it was a unique intersection of different audiences who read blogs. The temperature began to grow.
Indeed, CNN reports (HT: Denny Burk) that Justin’s post on Bell received over 250,000 hits in just a few days. At the same time, Bell’s book sales have soared.
There are a couple of things for the people in our church to notice:
- Until Christ returns, local churches cannot take for granted that sound doctrine will not be called into question.
- While there have long been battles for sound doctrine, the way that these discussions has changed dramatically in the age of the Internet.
- The importance of a local church carefully watching both its life and doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16) cannot be overstated. Everything is at stake in discussions such as these.
You can read the CNN article about the controversy here. Kevin DeYoung’s thoughts are also insightful. And, Justin’s original post on Bell’s position is here. I certainly agree with Kevin that it doesn’t work for Bell to say, “I was only asking questions.”
